Uranium is recovered from fresh unretorted oil shale containing uranium by leaching it with hydrochloric, sulfuric or nitric acids. Usually 90% of the uranium is removed. When the same shale is retorted for the recovery of shale oil, the spent shale that results contains the same amount of uranium, however, its concentration increases. This increase is explained by loss of material from the shale without loss of uranium. The uranium left in the spent shale is difficult to remove and only about 40-50% of the uranium can be recovered by leaching with hydrochloric acid.
The present invention provides a process that recovers 90% of the uranium from the spent shale by first treating the spent shale with methanol, methanol and water, or methanol mixed with sodium methoxide at between about 240.degree. and 450.degree. C., either at atmospheric pressure or at higher than atmospheric pressure, followed by leaching with an aqueous acid solution to remove the uranium.